Delivery mechanism.



No. 664,585. I Patented Dad. 25, 1900. o. BOESEN.

DELIVERY MECHANISM. (Application m'ad m 22, 19cm 1 -(No Model.) 2Shaets8hee\ l.

m: mums PETERS c0. PHOTO-LUNG msumumu. 0, c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR ROESEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y. ASSIGNOR TQ ROBERT HOE, OF

SAME PLACE.

DELIVERY MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 664,585, datedDecember 25, 1900.

Application filed May 22, 1900- Serial No. 17,573. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OSCAR ROESEN, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in DeliveryMechanisms, fully described and represented in the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to certain improvements in delivery mechanism,the invention being primarily intended for use with printing-machines,although it may be used in other relations.

In fast printing-machines as now ordinarily constructed the printedpapers are either delivered onto a series of belts which arecontinuously moving, so that the papers overlap as they fall thereon, orelse the papers are packed, by means of a moving plunger, in what isgenerally known as a packer-box. On high-grade work, however--snch, forinstance, as the printing of illustrated papers both these systems ofdelivery are objectionable because the papers are liable to becomesmutted or rubbed. The packer-box system is impracticable for such work,and the constantly-moving-belt system, while a great improvement on thepacker-box system, is objectionable for high-grade work because as thepapers are removed in bunches some of them are apt to be rubbed togetherand the ink will smudge. Furthermore, in removing the bunches of papersfrom the belts the opera tor seizes them by the edges, and if theoperators hands are dirty finger-marks will be left on the paper, andalso if the papers shift or slip while in the hands of the operator someof them will be smutted. Furthermore, after the papers are removed fromthe delivcry-tapes they must be allowed to dry. This is now usuallyeffectedby superposin g the removed bunches upon each other, the bunchesbeing piled on a table or other suitable support. The result of this isthat the papers become packed more or less closely together, which isliable to produceoffsetting, and, besides, sufficient chance is notgiven for the air to circulate between the papers, so that the dryingoperation is necessarily a slow one.

It is one of the objects of this invention to produce a deliverymechanism in which the papers can be removed from the machine withoutbeing handled by the operator.

A further object of the invention is to produce a delivery mechanism inwhich the papers are delivered in such a manner that the several bunchesmay be stacked with the papers of each bunch out of contact with thepapers of the other bunches and suificient space being left betweenthem, so that the papers are not pressed together by their own weight,and the air is given an opportunity to circulate freely between thebunches and the papers of each bunch.

With these and other objects in vieyLthe invention consists in certainconstructions and in certain parts, improvements, and combinations, aswill be hereinafter fully described, and then specifically pointed outin the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification,and in which like characters of reference indicate thesame parts, Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of so muchof the delivery end of a printing-machine as is necessary to anunderstanding of the invention, the plane of section being indicated bythe line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a side view of the construction shownin Fig. 1, the View being taken in the direction of the arrow 2 ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 1, but with theparts in a different position. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of thesheet-receiving tray employed.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of theinvention, 1 indicates a frame which in the present instance is aportion of the frame of a folding apparatus of a rotaryprinting-machine. The sheets as they come from the folding apparatuspass through rollers 2, suitably journaled in the frame, and in theconstruction shown are directed by suitable guides 3. into an S-fly 4,said fly being mounted on a shaft 5, which is driven, as by a gear 5,from any suitable moving part of the machine. The construction so fardescribed is an ordinary construction of delivery mechanism, and anyother similar well-known construction may be substituted therefor, ifdesired.

The mechanism embodying the invention involves the use-of a plurality ofsheet-receivers. While these sheet-receivers may be varied widely inform, they will preferably consist of trays. In the construction showneach of these trays has a sheet-supporting bottom or surface consistingof a rear portion 6 and a forward portion, which in the present instanceis made up of a supporting-block? and spaced fingers 8, set in mortisesin the block. The bottom or sheet-supporting surface of the tray isconnected to sides 9 and,

10. Each of these sides 9 and 10 has a projection 11, the purpose ofwhich will be hereinafter stated, and each side has a portion of its topcut away, the top 12 of the cut-away portion being lower than the top ofthe main anism consists of a series of rollers 13, around Which pass aseries of belts or tapes 14. These tapes and.rollers are designed to becontinuouslydriven,andthiscontinuousdriving may be effected in anydesired way. In

. the construction shown the shaft 15, mounted in suitable bearings inthe frame 1, is provided with a gear 16, which meshes with a gear 17,mounted on a shaft 18, supported in a suitable bearing 19, secured tothe frame. The shaft 18 carries a worm-gear 20, which meshes with a worm21 on the shaft 5. The shaft 15 is provided with a series of groovedpulleys 22, from which belts are run to the forward one of the rollers13. The drivingrol-ler 13 will operate to drive the belts or tapes andthe remainder of the rollers in an obvious manner. It may be hereremarked that the rollers 13 are somewhat wider than the trays whichthey support and are provided with grooves, which are engaged byguidingstrips 24, secured to the bottom of each of the trays. Thisconstruction insures the advance of the trays without any sidewisemovement, but while it is desirable is not necessary. 7 It may thereforeeither be omitted or replaced by any other suitable guiding means. Aseach tray is carried along by the advancing mechanism described it willbe'seen that the sheets which are delivered into the tray by thedelivery mechanism will overlap each other, the position of the sheetsbeing well shown in Fig. 5.

It has been heretofore stated that whilethe construction of thereceivers may be varied within wide limits they preferably consist of Inthe construction trays, each of which has the forward portion of'itsbottom or sheet-supporting surface arranged in a higher plane than thatwhich contains the rear portion. The reason for this construction is toenable a tray which is to be filled to be brought into position beneaththe sheet-delivery devices wi-thoutdisturbing the position of the traywhich has just been filled with respect to the advancing mechanism, thusavoidinganysudden shock or jar which would tend to displace or move thesheets in the filled tray and cause them to rub together and becomesmutted. Trays constructed as described can be arranged so that the rearportion of one tray is overlapped by the forward portion of the nexttray and the tray which is to be filled can be brought into position toreceive its sheets immediately after the last sheet has been placed inthe preceding tray and before ithas been moved out of the way bythe-movement of the advancing mechanism. In the preferred construction,

therefore, positioning devices will be used which operate to bring eachsucceeding tray into proper position immediately after a predeterminednumber of sheets has been placed in the preceding tray. The constructionof this positioning device maybe widely varied. In the constructionshown a rock-shaft 25, mounted in suitable bearings in the frame,carries two arms 26, suitably secured to the shaft. Each of these arms26 is provided with a detaining or holding finger 27 and aforwarding-finger 28, these fingers being arranged to cooperate with theprojections 11, before described as secured to the sides of the trays.One of the arms 26 carries a cam roll or stud 29, which cooperates witha cam 30, which is mounted on the shaft 15. Said arm 26 is also providedwith an extension 31, to which is secured a spring-rod 32, which passesthrough a loop 33, secured to the frame, and is surrounded-by a spring34, which bears against acollar 35, secured to the rod. For the majorportion of. the revolution of the cam 30, therefore, the arms 26-areheld back and the detaining-fingers 27 operate against the projections11, thus preventing any movement of the sheet-receiver, notwithstandingthe fact that the advancing mechanism is continuously operating, Thegearing by which the shaft 15 is operated is so proportioned that thecam 30 makes one revolution for a predetermined number of revolutions ofthe fly-shaft. When, therefore, a predetermined numberLof sheets hasbeen deposited in the preceding tray, the depressed portion of the camcomes opposite the camroll 29 and allows the spring 34 to rock the shaft25 and throw the arms forward. At this time the forwarding-fingers 28strike the projections 11 and cause a quick movement of the tray, thismovement being of suflicient extent toadvance the tray from the positionshown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 2--that is to say, withits forward end overlapping the rear end of the, preceding tray.

fast as the trays are filled they are removed from the advancingmechanism and piled up one on top of the other. The fact that thebottoms of the trays are in part comtion as described, therefore, it isunnecessary to handle the printed sheets between the time of deliveryand the time when they are 'sufiiciently dry so that they can be handledwithout danger of smutting.

While the invention is primarily intended for use in connection withprinting-machines, it may be used in other relations. While,furthermore, the construction set forth is a preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied inconstructions which are widely different from the one described. Theinvention is not therefore to be limited to the speci tic use describednor to the specific details of construction.

What is claimed is 1. The combination with a sheet-delivery apparatus,of a plurality of independent sheet-receivers, and means whereby eachreceiver is presented to the sheet-delivery apparatus and is caused whenso presented to receive a pack of sheets, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a sheet-delivery apparatus, of a plurality ofindependent sheet-receivers, and means whereby each receiver is toreceive a pack of sh ets which partly overlie each other, substantiallyas described.

3. In a sheet-delivery apparatus,the combination with sheet-deliverymeans, of a plurality of sheet-receivers in which the sheet-s aresuperposed by the delivery means, means for presenting each receiver tothe delivery apparatus, and means for advancing each receiver during thetime the sheets are delivered thereto, substantially as described.

4. In a sheet-delivery apparatus, the combination with sheet-deliveringmeans, of a plurality of sheet-receivers, and means whereby thesheet-delivering means is caused to deposit a pack of sheets in eachreceiver, such sheets partly overlying each other, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a sheet-delivery apparatus, the com bination with sheet-deliveringmeans, of a plurality of sheet-receiving trays, each tray beingconstructed so that a part of its sheet-supporting surface may be causedto overlie a part of the sheet-supporting surface of the next tray,substantially as described.

6. A tray for use in sheet-delivery apparatus having parts of itssheet-supporting surface arranged in different planes, whereby two suchtrays are adapted to be so arranged that a part 'of the sheet-supportingsurface of one tray overlies a part of the sheet-supporting surface ofthe other tray, substantially as described.

7. A tray for use in sheet-delivery apparatus having parts of itssheet-supporting surface arranged in different planes and parts of thetops and parts of the bottoms of its sides similarly arranged, wherebyeach tray may be caused to overlap a similar tray at one end and to beoverlapped by a similar tray at the other end, substantially asdescribed.

8. A tray for use in sheet-delivery apparatus constructed to receive apack of overlapping sheets and having the forward portion of itssheet-supporting surface arranged above the rear portion, whereby twosuch trays are adapted to be so arranged that the forward portion of thesheet-supporting surface of one overlies the rear portion of thesheet-supporting portion of the other, substantially as described.

9. A tray for use in sheet-delivery apparatus having its sides andbottoms at each end of thetrayarranged at differentheights,whereby twosuch trays are adapted to be so arranged that the part of the bottom ofone tray overlies the part of the bottom of the next tray, substantiallyas described.

10. The combination with a sheet-delivery device,of a plurality ofsheet-receivers, means for advancing a sheet-receiver with respect tothe delivery device during the delivering operation so that a pack ofoverlapping sheets will be deposited in the receiver, and means forpositioning a second receiver so that the first sheet deposited in itwill overlie the last sheet deposited in the first receiver but willhave its major portion supported by the second receiver, substantiallyas described.

11. The combination with a sheet-delivery device,of a plurality ofsheet-receivers, means for advancing one or more of said receivers at aconstant speed, means for preventingthe advance of a succeeding receiveruntil the preceding receiver is filled, and means for positioning saidsucceeding receiver so that it will receive its first sheet withoutinterfering with the advance of the preceding receiver, substantially asdescribed.

12. The combination with a sheet-delivery device, of a plurality ofsheet-receivingtrays, each tray having the forward portion of itssheet-supporting surface arranged above its rear portion, means foradvancing each tray during the delivery operation,wherebya pack ofoverlapping sheets will be deposited therein, and means for bringing asucceeding tray into position as the precedin gtray is filled with thehigher portion of the sheet-supporting surface of the succeeding trayoverlying the lower portion of the sheet-supporting surface of 'thepreceding tray, substantially as described.

13. The combination with a sheet-delivery device, of a constantlyrunningadvancing mechanism, a plurality of trays arranged thereon, each trayhaving parts of its sheetsupporting surface arranged at difi'erent Iheights, and means for bringing eachsucceedizng-tray, as the precedingtray'is filled, into I a position where the higher portion of itsfsheet-supporting surface overlies the lower! portion ofthesheet-supporting surface of the T preceding tray, substantially asdescribed.

let. The combination with a sheet-delivery device, of'a supporting andadvancing mechl anism, a plurality of Sheetreceiving trays carriedthereby, and a tray-positioning device, substantially as described.

15. The combination with a sheet-delivery device, of a supporting andadvancing mechanism, a plurality of sheet-receivers carried j thereby,and a tray-positioning device, substantially as described.

16. The combination with a sheet-delivery i device, of an advancingmechanism including belts and rollers, a plurality of trays carriedthereby, each tray having parts ofi its sheet-supporting surfacearranged at different heights,a tray-positioning arm, and means forintermittinglyoperatingthe arm, substantially asdescribed.

17. The combination with a sheet-delivery device,of a tray-advancingmechanis'rma plupredetermined number of sheets have been deposited insaid preceding tray, substantially as described.

18. The combination with a sheet-delivery device, of an advancingmechanism, a plurality of trays, each tray having parts of itssheet-supporting surface arranged at differ- 1 cut heights and having aprojection, an arm having retaining and advancing fingers which engagethe projection, and means for intermittently operating the arm,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set nay-hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

OSCAR ROESEN. Witnesses:

O'r'ro L. RAABE,

ral-ity of trays, each tray having parts of its HENRY SI MOUNT.

